Read a full match report of the SPL game between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox
on Sunday 18 September 2011.

A contest of blood and blunder at Ibrox saw the former drawn by Ally McCoist in his first Old Firm derby as a manager and the latter committed by his goalkeeper with an error that will go viral in its online replays. Rangers’ victory was unquestionably aided by the dismissal of Charlie Mulgrew late in the proceedings, but by that stage they were ahead for the second time in the contest and looking likely to extend their advantage.

More significantly for Celtic, too many individuals failed to deliver on this most demanding of occasions and Neil Lennon’s team stuttered when he needed it to purr, although they had gone into the interval with a lead despite falling behind to Steven Naismith’s spectacular strike midway through the first half. Both sides hit the goal frame after the break but the second 45 minutes belonged to Rangers.

Many Celtic fans must have groaned when they saw that Anthony Stokes had not quite assured Lennon that he had the match fitness to start and that Gary Hooper would have Georgios Samaras for company in attack. This is a pairing that has never convinced: for much of the proceedings the Greek forward was a ringer for his country’s economy – undermined by a lack of productivity. By contrast Hooper put himself about to some effect, never more so than shortly after the half hour mark.

Badr Al Kaddouri, at left-back, had endured a torrid introduction to the Old Firm inquisition and at various times he was seen to argue with Kelvin Wilson, playing inside him in central defence, and Mulgrew, who had the midfield beat directly in front of him.

It was from Celtic’s left that they conceded the opener in the 22nd minute. Kyle Lafferty had loped around the Moroccan to strike cutback into the box. The immediate danger was cleared by Beram Kayal at the expense of a throw-in from which Kelvin Wilson’s clearance was misplaced straight to Naismith.

The Rangers midfielder thrashed his drive with brio high past Fraser Forster. Celtic continued to toil until their fortunes were transformed dramatically by two serious defensive lapses at the other end of the field. The first was the direct result of greater adventurousness by El Kaddouri, who at last got over the halfway line in support of a rare Celtic break.

Scott Brown – restored as Hoops captain but never looking quite free of the ankle malady that persistently hinders him – took possession from Al Kaddouri and switched a deft pass to the feet of Hooper, who was so unhindered as he placed his finish precisely beyond McGregor that most eyes turned towards the assistant referee to check for an offside decision.

The flag stayed down and the tide of the game swung. Now it was Rangers who looked bemused and Celtic who began to affect a swagger. Nobody, however, could have foreseen how they would move in front.

Al Kaddouri, increasingly bold, cut inside near the Rangers box and decided it would be worth having a pop. His shot was respectable but in no way menacing and, as it ambled towards him, McGregor dropped on one knee to collect, a yard in front of his right hand post.

Certainty was transformed into incredulity, however, as McGregor contrived to allow the ball to squirt through his grasp and through the modicum of space between him and the post.

Rangers looked shell-shocked and McCoist was required to summon his motivational powers in the dressing room. That he had said something to powerful effect was swiftly evident because 45 seconds after the restart Steven Davis uncorked a soaring drive that arced against the angle.

Mulgrew looked increasingly short of composure. Having already been cautioned, he committed two fouls in quick succession.

Rangers drew level with a goal that mimicked Atletico Madrid’s opener against Celtic on Thursday. From a corner kick Davis found Nikica Jelavic unmarked in the box and the Croatian’s header on the bounce swept beyond the exposed Forster.

El Kaddouri then came close to adding a further chapter to a remarkable passage when he tried to head back to Forster without spotting Lafferty. The forward connected with the ball but pushed it narrowly wide.

Celtic looked rattled, but once more they might have altered the flow of fortune when Glenn Loovens met a Mulgrew corner kick with a header that slapped back off the upright. Scarcely had the Celtic fans’ cheers been stopped in mid-yell than Rangers were back in front.

Jelavic’s header from a Gregg Wylde cross was blocked and fell to Lafferty. It took the Northern Irishman three attempts to find his mark but perseverance paid with his first goal against Celtic. Rangers began to indulge their dominance and when Mulgrew took one chance too many with an unwarranted risky challenge on Davis the game was theirs.

McCoist produced a reminder of Walter Smith’s “what we have, we hold” inclinations by replacing Lafferty with Lee McCulloch. As four minutes of injury time neared their end Davis crossed from the left and Naismith responded with a perfect break into the box to sidefoot beyond Forster. Rangers were home, hosed and four points clear of their fiercest rivals.

Financial concerns they have in abundance, but the first Old Firm victory of the season is in the safe deposit after a game that yielded a pleasingly substantial rate of interest.